Hop-picking head



April 20, 1954 R. V. HARRISON HOP-PICKING HEAD 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 8, 1950 Ap 1954 R. v. HARRISON 2,

HOP-PICKING HEAD Filed March 8, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 20, 1954 R v. H soN I 2,675,664

I HOP-PICKING HEAD Filed March 8, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Apr. 20, 1954 Application March 8, 1950, Serial No. 148,433

Claims priority, application Great Britain March 9, 1949 6 Claims.

This invention concerns improvements relating to mechanical hop-picking apparatus. A particular object of the invention is to provide simple but effective and selective apparatus for picking hops where they are growing.

According to the invention, a picking head for such apparatus comprises a body with one or more openings to which suction can be applied, mechanically actuated stalk-severing means so associated with each opening that the stalks of hops drawn through the latter will be engaged and cut by the said means, and nozzles arranged for directing hop-singling jets of compressed air towards the zone, outside each opening, from which the hops are drawn into the body by the suction.

Advantageously the head comprises a part or parts rotatable about each opening in a position permitting contact with hops entering the opening. It has been found that the presence of such a part rotating at a moderately high speed assists the suction in causing smooth and easy entry of the hops into the head without the necessity for such violent suction as might damage the hops. Moderate suction on the other hand, is not merely harmless, but may tend to close the hop petals and assist in retaining the lupulin.

The severing means preferably comprises concentric annular cutting and stalk-collecting members encircling each suction opening and relatively rotatable in such a manner that the collecting member will carry the stalks across the edge of the cutting member. In this case, the rotatable member advantageously serves also as the rotatable part assisting entry of the hops.

Preferably, the compressed air nozzles stand slightly proud of the margin of each suction opening.

Extremely effective hop-picking can be performed With such a head, which has a highly selective action as between hops on the one hand and leaves, stalks, string and other unwanted material on the other. The hops are separated before they enter the head and are thus prevented from congesting the suction openings.

A preferred embodiment of the invention by way of example will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan View of a head, some of the overlying parts being shown broken away,

Figure 2 a side elevation thereof to a smaller scale, one half of the handle being removed,

Figure 3 a section on the line IIIIII in Figure 1, and

Figure l an enlarged detail section on the line IV--IV in Figure 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevation of hoppicking apparatus on a vehicle.

In the illustrated embodiment, the picking head, which the operator holds by means of a handle I, has a bifurcatedv funnel-like body 2 above a neck portion 3110 which a flexible suction hose (not shown in Fig. 2) can be connected. The body 2 is surmounted by a thin inwardly projecting cap piece 4 having a figure-of-eight shape in the plan, the inner edges .of its two circular openings 5 being formed with spigots 6 by means of which annuiar knives l with razor-sharp plain inner edges are fixedly locatedWith'the assistance of tabs 8, Figure 4. Rings 9 formed with internal stalk-collecting slots l0 and external gear teeth i! are rotatably mounted around the openings 5 by means of spigots i2 which are guided in annular grooves l3 formed in the cappiece 4. Between the slots Ill, which trail, in relation to the direction of rotation, substantially tangentially of the openings 5, the rings 9' have dependent guard flanges [4 making the knife edges. The rings mesh with each other and aredriven, suitably at about 7.00 R. P. M., through gearing l5 and a flexible shaft I6. A readily removable cover plate ll serves to retain the rings'9 in position and to mask the gear teeth.

The cap piece dis also formed with annular air channels [8, closed by theplate H, to which compressed air is supplied at, say, vSOlbs/in. through a flexible line [9. This is carried between the two halves of the handle 1 (Figure 2) under a finger-operated button 20 by which the flexible tube can be squeezed for reducing or substantially cutting off the air pressure. Nozzles 2| in communication with the channels I8 project through and above the cover l1.

Assuming that the head is subject to suction, that a drive is being transmitted to the rings 9 and that compressed air is being supplied to the nozzles 2!, the mode of operation is as follows: The head is applied with its openings 5 to the fully grown hops with a sweeping action, as though the hops were to be lightly brushed ofi. The hops are drawn through the openings 5 by suction and the hop stalks are caught by the slots IE! and carried along across the sharp edges of the knives 7 so that they are immediately severed, allowing the hops to be removed by the suction. The thinness, in the axial direction, of the inwardly projecting cap piece 4 and associated parts bounding the openings 5 and the widened cross section inside the said openings al- The slots low the hops to float radially outwardly in any direction immediately after entry. This, in con junction with the movement imparted to the head by the operator, assists in ensuring that the hop stalks are quickly engaged by the slots l irrespective of the angle at which the hops are drawn in. i0, particularly the nose portions thereof, are designed, having regard to the speed of rotation, so as to collect substantially only the hop stalks and largely to reject the bigger and stifier leaf and spray stalks should they be drawn in. These latter stalks and string are therefore generally ejected again during the continued movement of the head. The comparatively high speed of rotation of the rings 9 aids easy entry of the hops without the necessity for excessive suction, as well as ensuring rapid severance, so that hops are not whirled round and round with consequent risk of damage. Severance is also facilitated by the tensioned condition of the ho stalks extended from the main stalk by the efiect of the suction on the hops. This is an additional factor resulting in the selective severance of hop stalks, since a body of the shape and weight of a hop carried by a stalk of the size and flexibility of a hop stalk will be afiected by the suction differently from, say, a leaf on a leaf stalk.

The jets of compressed air from the nozzles 2i serve to separate and single out the hops, thus preventing them from crowding into and clogging the openings 5. Protrusion of the nozzles is important for their maximum effectiveness. If they were flush with the cover ll, an uneconomically high pressure would be necessary to overcome the neutralising effect of the adjacent suction zone. Nozzles projecting from the plate I! about A," have been found to be efiective. The number of nozzles may be varied, but the illustrated provision of three such nozzles, each of about e 2" bore, per opening 5 will produce an ample air flow. Nozzles protruding to the extent stated have also a certain mechanical singling effect, but are not long enough to become entangled with the bines. The button 20 can be controlled to vary the effective air pressure between a low value when single hops are being dealt with and up to the maximum pressure when heavy sprays are encountered.

In practice, as illustrated digrammatically in Fig. 5, there may be a plurality of picking heads ing means 28 for the flexible shafts iii are driven 5 from a single diesel engine 27. Individual suction hoses 28 connected to the bodies 2 of the picking heads are branched from a suction trunk 4 29 extending longitudinally and communicating with the fan 24 through a separating and collecting arrangement 30 for filtering the hops from the suction air and from leaves or other foreign material.

I claim:

1. A mechanical hop-picking head comprising a body with atleast one hop-entry opening and a cross-sectional shape which widens immediately inside the said opening, means for applying suction in the said opening, annular stalk-severing means mounted on the body and immediately surrounding the said opening, and driving gear mounted on said body and operatively connected to the said stalk-severing means for rotating the same at high speed.

2. A mechanical hop-picking head comprising a body with at least two hop-entry openings located closely side by side and with a cross-sectional shape which widens immediately inside the said openings, means for applying suction to the said openings, annular stalk-severing means mounted on the body and immediately surrounding each of the said openings, and driving gear mounted on the said body and operatively connected to the said stalk-severing means for rotating the same at high speed.

3. A picking head according to claim 2 in combination with fine air nozzles arranged on the body around each of the openings and directed outwardly substantially at right angles thereto, and means for supplying compressed air to the said nozzles.

4. A picking head as claimed in claim 1, wherein severing means comprises concentric cutting and stalk-collecting rings mounted on the head and encircling each suction opening and relatively rotatable in such a manner that the collecting ring will carry the stalks across the edge of the cutting ring.

5. A picking head as claimed in claim 1, wherein severing means mounted on the head comprises an annular knife with an internal cutting edge and an internally slotted stalk-collecting ring rotatable in relation to the said knife.

6. A picking head as claimed in claim 5, wherein the slots in the slotted ring trail substantially tangentially in relation to the opening, having regard to the direction of rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 791,704 Lardner June 6, 1905 1,239,614 Meier et al Sept. 11, 1917 1,253,774 Boig Jan. 15, 1918 1,355,786 Skillins Oct. 12, 1920 

